Hawk and Dove #1

Directly from the pages of "Brightest Day" and now in their own monthly series under the "Young Justice" line, come the avatars of War and Peace:  Hawk and Dove.  Written by Sterling Gates and pencilled by Rob Liefeld.

Cover by Rob Liefeld

I know very little about these two characters, except whatever was discussed during "Brightest Day".  I saw Dove for the first time in the pages of JSA's "Princes of Darkness", and it was an instant crush.  Of Hawk, I recall some mentions in "Zero Hour" but it sounded too convoluted to look further into the character; so I am aproaching this series through the eyes of a new reader for the most part.

With that said, I got to learn the origin of Hawk and the first Dove, and what their powers are -it was pretty cool seeing Dawn lifting that airplane.  There is also action, zombies, and a mystery.  Dove is keeping secrets from Hawk... secrets that could split them forever.  In the end, readers also find out that apparently there is more than just the avatars of War and Peace.

Now the art.  Over the years I have noticed that Rob Liefeld has gotten lots of hate from readers; but it doesn't seem to me that his art is bad at all -I do remember the hot mess that was "Heroes Reborn" but that was not just his art, it was the whole thing.  In Hawk and Dove his pencils are very nice and clean, with just enough backgrounds, and rich in panels.  Matt Yackey's colors also bring lots of life and dynamism to the story.

"First Strikes", the debut issue of Hawk and Dove, is a reader friendly issue; newcomers won't get lost, and old fans will get enough to get them to come back.  The story was good enough to get me interested and wanting to pick up the second issue.  With nice art and the potential for a great story, it is a title not to miss.  To the skepticals, I suggest you give it a chance, and you will not regret it.